Wedmont Private Capital Grows Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,127,000 after buying an additional 6,545 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 16,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 82,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,367,000 after purchasing an additional 4,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of PEG opened at $86.28 on Thursday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $56.85 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.52 and its 200-day moving average is $84.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,245,040.92. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Kim C. Hanemann sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $86,126.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 70,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,290.99. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,234 shares of company stock worth $722,037. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on PEG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.17.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company Profile

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates in electric and gas utility business in the United States. It operates through PSE&G and PSEG Power segments. The PSE&G segment transmits electricity; distributes electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers; and appliance services and repairs to customers through its service territory, as well as invests in solar generation projects, and energy efficiency and related programs.